The best pizza I had this year -\u2013 maybe this decade -\u2013 wasn\u2019t at Roberta\u2019s, Di Fara or at my favorite by-the-slice spot, Ray\u2019s. Nor was it at famed chef Wylie Dufresne\u2019s Stretch nor at Ceres run by two\u00a0Eleven Madison Park alumni.<\/p>\n
It was from Tokyo \u2014 or more exactly at Pizza Studio Tamaki in the East Village (123 St. Marks Pl.),\u00a0the first Big Apple outpost of chef-owner Tsubasa Tamaki\u2019s Japanese outfit. If Big Apple pizzaioli don\u2019t want to hear it, let them pop into PST and taste for themselves.<\/p>\n
Tamaki\u2019s ten-inch pies\u00a0look Neapolitan at first glance. They\u2019re round and they have familiar\u00a0toppings of tomato, cheeses, olives, anchovies and basil. Except for blistered knots in the outer crusts \u2014 or cornicione, to cognoscenti \u2014 you\u2019d take them for the standard article you\u2019ve had a million times.<\/p>\n
The new Pizza Studio Tamaki in the East Village is making some of the best pizza in the city. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
But a closer look reveals more densely packed elements. Nothing is applied sparingly. Here is New York-style, tomato-and-cheese plus a few extras a la Napoli, gone to decadent, overly abundant heaven.<\/p>\n
Pizza scolds sweat over\u00a0\u201cauthenticity\u201d and argue over square or round, deep-dish or paper-thin crust. Most of us just want the stuff to taste great. I\u2019ve loved pizza since I was a kid. My 76-year-old palate has had pizza in every shape and style, on every corner of New York, in LA and Prague and its hometown city, \u00a0Naples \u00a0\u2014where I found the offerings less compelling than its reputation had prepared me for.<\/p>\n
No pizza has blown me away quite like PST\u2019s.<\/p>\n
My first bite delivered explosive flavors of tomato sauce, fresh mozz, oregano and garlic. It was like tasting pizza for the first time.<\/p>\n
The difference starts with the dough. Tamaki\u2019s dough is made from a proprietary flour milled in Japan from American, Canadian and Japanese grains. A 30-hour fermentation adds complexity. <\/p>\n
The small restaurant sits on St. Mark\u2019s Place, between Avenue A and First Avenue. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
The two dining areas are anchored by a large bar. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
The result is a medium-thick crust that actually tastes of the yeast it\u2019s made from \u2014 unlike\u00a0crusts that taste of nothing and mainly serve as platforms for the toppings. It has a tantalizing, smoky note even though (despite reports elsewhere) no wood is used in the cooking process.<\/p>\n
The oven floor is seasoned with Okinawan salt before each pie goes in for 60 to 75 seconds at 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The salt brightens all the flavors without overwhelming them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Olive oil is a prominent note. Although reps for the restaurant\u00a0were vague about how much is used \u2014 \u201cit varies by pizza and is incorporated into the cooking process\u201d \u2014\u00a0I tasted it in soul-satisfying abundance.<\/p>\n
Tomato sauce, made in house from San Marzano tomatoes and oregano, unifies the fresh mozzarella, anchovies, garlic, oregano and basil in a pie called the Romana ($28). <\/p>\n
The Romana pie features anchovies, garlic, oregano and basil. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
The Arrabbiata is topped with plump\u00a0cherry tomatoes that squirt when poked like soup dumplings. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
The Arrabbiata ($32) is a sizzling number topped with fresh mozz, nduja, plump\u00a0cherry tomatoes that squirt when poked like soup dumplings and a liberal sprinkling of black pepper. <\/p>\n
\u00a0Both varieties had awesome mouth feel,\u00a0exquisitely balanced between soft and slightly crunchy.<\/p>\n
Even the simple Margherita ($26) tasted grander than the sum of its tomato, mozzarella and basil parts.<\/p>\n
The 5 Formaggi ($35) features an array of cheese \u2014smoked mozzarella, gorgonzola, taleggio,\u00a0grand padano and\u00a0mascarpone \u2014\u00a0a rich, complex combo that made for the best all-white pie I ever had ($35). It comes with a dose of honey on the side that, when poured on the pizza, adds a delightful sweetness that sets of the cheeses. <\/p>\n
Tamaki himself is in-and-out, although reps say he\u2019ll be in town \u201cconsistently\u201d and is due back in the week after Memorial Day. It doesn\u2019t seem to matter. His executive chef, Aki Tadaaki, trained the team in Tokyo for three weeks before the opening and executive sous chef Shunya Ishida works at the restaurant full-time.<\/p>\n
The rough-hewn venue features\u00a0two dining areas anchored by a large, rectangular bar\/counter that faces the colorful sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Even a classic margherita thrills. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
The 5 Formaggi is an exemplary white pie. It comes with a side of honey that accentuates the cheeses. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n
PST isn\u2019t \u00a0cheap \u2014 up to $37 for 10-inch pies \u2014 but you can spend as much at any of haute pizza spots around town for pies only 20%\u00a0larger and 100% less good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the current crowds are any indication, the Rising Sun will shine on St. Marks Place for a long, long time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The best pizza I had this year -\u2013 maybe this decade -\u2013 wasn\u2019t at Roberta\u2019s, Di Fara or…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":791624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,26307,8364,170,1165,5249,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,16564,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-791623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-east-village","10":"tag-food-drink","11":"tag-japan","12":"tag-lifestyle","13":"tag-manhattan","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-pizza","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116563005064737477","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}